My family and I have always celebrated Juneteenth! Juneteenth commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery and the emancipation of Black citizens throughout all of the United States. This historic day is important to us all. 

Growing up, I remember my grandparents and my great grandmother talking about civil rights marches and everything they had to endure just to work towards equal rights. I remember them sharing stories about my ancestors who were actually in Texas at the time of the announcement. It gives me chills to think about what that moment must have been like, but more importantly, what that meant for Black individuals from that day forward.

As a small child, my family would celebrate with other Black families, White families, and other families of color by having a cookout or some type celebration to commemorate Juneteenth. It was extremely necessary for me to learn about the importance of Juneteenth as a child, because I was able to grow up with a strong love for my culture, a deep admiration of my heritage, and what it truly meant to be Black in America.

Here at StepUp, we continue to make conscious efforts to educate our StepUp children and young adults about Black History and the importance of Juneteenth. I read the book, Juneteenth For Mazie, by Floyd Cooper EVERY year to my own children and we read it this past week to all of our amazing StepUp children! 

Celebrate Juneteenth today with children, adults, and people of all backgrounds. We cannot abdicate from our responsibility to teach and educate each other about our true history. History is history for us all. Happy Juneteenth! It truly is a holiday to be celebrated!”

- Colisha C Stanford, Director of Children and Young Adult Programs

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We’ve compiled a variety of resources to educate about the history and celebrate the significance of Juneteenth. Check them out here:  

Online Resources

Digital resources to celebrate and teach Juneteenth 

• Juneteenth history and links to other resources 

A Brief History of Juneteenth: Including Resources for Teachers and Home School Parents 

• History of Juneteenth and links to lesson plans for teachers and parents 

Teaching Juneteenth by Learning for Justice  

• Juneteenth resource that acknowledges history and empowers change 

17 Ways to Celebrate Juneteenth 

• Includes books to read, videos to watch, and learning plans 

Atlanta History Center Juneteenth Commemoration 2021 

• Free, virtual programming honoring Juneteenth and recognizing “Black innovation, creativity, and activism.” 

Books to read this Juneteenth 

Penguin Random House Reading List 

125 Black-owned Bookstores 

Other books: 

• Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain 

• On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed 

• Festivals of Freedom by Mitch Kachun 

• Closer to Freedom by Stephanie Camp 

• A Black Women’s History of the United States by Daina Berry and Kali Gross 

• Juneteenth For Mazie by Floyd Cooper

• We All Belong: A Children’s Book About Diversity, Race, and Empathy by Natalie Goss and Alex Goss 

• All Different Now: Juneteenth, The First Day of Freedom by Angela Johnson and E. B. Lewis 

• Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Ducan Tonatiuh 

• It’s OK to be Different: A Children’s Picture Book about Diversity and Kindness by Sharon Purtill and Sujata Saha 

Black Owned Businesses to Support in the Area 

WRAL List of Triangle Area Black-owned Businesses 

Discover Durham List of Black-owned Businesses 

Raleigh Magazine List of Black-owned Businesses 

Juneteenth 2021 in the Triangle 

Raleigh Juneteenth Festival 

Saturday 2-8PM 

Garner Road Community Center (2235 Garner Road Raleigh NC) 

Juneteenth 

Saturday 1-2:30PM 

Sertoma Amphitheatre (801 High House Road Cary, NC) 

Black Gold Magazine: Juneteenth Celebration Kick Off 

Friday 7:30-10:30PM 

The West Room (6405 Westgate Road STE 121 Raleigh NC) 

Capital City Juneteenth Celebration at Dix Park 

Saturday 1-5PM 

693 Palmer Dr Raleigh NC 

Juneteenth Black Business PopUp 

Saturday 10AM-4PM 

Fisher Memorial United Holy Church of America (420 E Piedmont Ave Durham NC) 

Juneteenth Event: Celebrating Black Music Month 

Sunday 3-7:30PM 

North Carolina Museum of Art (2110 Blue Ridge Road Raleigh NC) 

Celebrate Juneteenth at the Museum of History 

Friday 1-4PM 

North Carolina Museum of History (5 E Edenton Street Raleigh NC) 

MORE EVENTS 

This past month has been another busy one for our youngest participants in Baby and Little Steps! We continued our fun activities through virtual programs, with edible playdoh, make your own sensory bins, and lessons about the changing seasons.  

We also had a wonderful opportunity to partner with WAKE Up and Read, a local nonprofit committed to improve childhood literacy. They provided us with bags of activity books, picture books and other resources tailored to our youngest participants. Read more about WAKE Up and Read here: https://wakeupandread.org/

Thanks to Acorn and Oak Property Management for donating books for our school-aged children that explore themes of leadership, empowerment and confidence. Check out the list below:

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by Bryan Mealer and William Kamkwamba

Ways to Make Sunshine by Renee Watson

Clean Getaway by Nic Stone

The Only Black Girls in Town by Brandy Colbert

Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds

New Kid by Jerry Craft

Image from the Cleveland Public Library website

Black history is American history. This month join us in diving into the truths of our history. We’re collecting resources from Black creators and will continue to update this page throughout the month.

“And, this is not a lesson for February alone. The history of Black people, and of the influence Black people have on this nation, cannot be contained within 28 days. We know that Black history is not a set of facts that we must learn solely to further the important goals of diversity and representation.” - Achievementfirst.org

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This year, the Smithsonian is celebrating Black History Month with virtual programming. It began with a discussion on the book Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 with authors Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain.

You can see their upcoming events and register here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/nmaahc-announces-digital-black-history-month-events-180976848/

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Rachel Cargle, creator of The Great Unlearn platform (which can be found here: https://rachel-cargle.com/the-great-unlearn/) has also created a Black History Month learning series that can be found on her social media platforms (and here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/46837445). Her free, downloadable PDF guide includes educational prompts and resources. 

Let us know what resources you are finding this month as we explore our history. #WeStepUp

This month, we're adding few books to our 2021 reading list! Thanks to Liz Howes, Director of Parish Programs for our partner Christ Church, for this list. Have you read any of these already? Let us know what you think!

Five Books for Your New Year Reading List:
• Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, Isabel Wilkerson
• The Color of Law, Richard Rothstein
• White Fragility, Robin Diangelo
• Love is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubled Times, Bishop Michael Curry
• From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the 21st Century, William Darity and Kristen Mullen

See more from Christ Church HERE.